Creativity, quality and impact: announcing the call for nominations for CoLRiC’s 2024 national awards

@Colric_Tweets: ‘Libraries play a critical role in supporting organisational goals and strategies. Our resources and services have demonstrable value and impact helping create and sustain an institution-wide lifelong learning environment.’

Since its inception in 1993, the Council for Learning Resources in Colleges (CoLRiC) has been the voice of Further Education and Sixth Form College Libraries and Learning Resource Services, encouraging and celebrating creativity, enterprise and innovation.

We are an independent organisation that represents a diverse group of college librarians and learning resource professionals across the UK, advocating and championing quality and exemplary practice across the educational sector; supporting our members in evidencing the impact and value that they bring to teaching, learning and the student experience.

A significant benefit of membership of the Council for Learning Resources in Colleges (CoLRiC) is the eligibility to nominate a team or individual for our two national awards. Every year we issue a call for nominations that demonstrate the creativity, quality and organisational impact of service provision on the teaching, learning and student experience. It provides an opportunity to take stock, reflect on and evaluate your contributions to college life. 

Partnerships and dialogue with students, teaching and support staff are essential to develop and deliver relevant, flexible and dynamic student services. We want to encourage you to showcase your enthusiasm and proactivity in the delivery of library and learning resource services, and are delighted to announce that nominations for 2024 are now open for the:

• CoLRiC Innovative Practice Award (CIPA)
• Jeff Cooper Inspirational Information Professional of the Year Award

CIPA is a team award and is sponsored by IS Oxford. It celebrates innovative teamworking, imaginative and exceptional service developments and projects. Emma Duffield, Sales Manager at IS Oxford and a Library and Information Management Consultant, will be the external judge.

The Jeff Cooper Inspirational Information Professional of the Year Award is named in honour of CoLRiC’s founder and will be presented to an outstanding and enthusiastic individual who has a proven commitment to library and learning resource services, student support and development. The nominee could work at any level in the service, from a library assistant to a senior manager. Liz McGettigan, Senior Consultant, Future Library Strategy, Technology and Design at The Design Concept, will be the external judge.

All nominations will be reviewed, scored and shortlisted by a judging panel comprising external library and information services experts and members of CoLRiC’s Executive Committee. The panel will be looking for commitment to student academic and personal development and lifelong learning alongside engagement with academic staff, curriculum colleagues, professional services and students.

Nominations in support of any resource or service will be considered by the judging panel. Examples include digital/information literacy, reading and numeracy, marketing and social media, physical and digital study environments, student and teaching staff engagement, contributions to curriculum and course planning and learning resources development and management, for example.